The invention relates to an apparatus for MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) including a scanner, a support for the patient, and supporting benches for supporting the scanner and the patient.
It is well known from prior art to make a Magnetic Resonance Imaging apparatus comprising means for supporting the patient in different ways, and having one or more degrees of freedom with respect to the scanner. It is also well known from prior art to use means for supporting and moving the scanner itself with respect to the room where the examination takes place and with respect to the patient himself. Prior art apparatus have some problems as regards the correct positioning of the patient: the patient often has to take unnatural positions during the examination in order to examine a particular part of his body, and he needs to be repositioned to scan the different body parts in the correct way. Especially in prior art MRI apparatus wherein the scanner is free to move with respect to the patient support, the examination needs a frequent and time-wasting initial phase of positioning, since the medical staff has to set the position of the scanner and the patient support in such a way to obtain the best results in imaging the part of the patient body under examination.
Moreover, prior art apparatus with the scanner joined to the patient support are often not optimized, since the volume that is used is larger than the necessary volume, this leads to have an examination room larger than necessary.
Particularly in known MRI apparatus there is often a part of the examination room whose function is to contain the data processor and its related devices for processing data and displaying results, as well as the control unit, i.e., the electric/electronic devices for controlling the scanner and the patient table motion. This fact leads to a non-optimal space management since a large part of the room is used to contain such devices.
Moreover, it has been found in prior art apparatus that there is another area that is not used, i.e., the area under the patient support and the area under the scanner. Usually in known apparatus two different benches are provided, one for supporting the scanner and one for supporting the patient support, both of them are made in such a way so that they can be used for supporting the scanner or the patient support. Even in the prior art apparatus wherein the scanner is moved together with the patient support, the benches are different, and their only function is to move the scanner and the patient support in their respective correct positions, in this case in fact they always include only means for moving, such as electric engine, guides and so on.
In the case of separated benches for individually supporting the scanner and the patient support that have to be moved together there is another problem, they need some lines to transmit the signals from the control unit from/to the scanner, from the control unit from/to the patient support, and from the scanner itself to/from the displaying devices and from/to all of the said elements, and this causes dedicated lines, that must be usually positioned under the wall or under the floor, having the evident drawback that they raise when the apparatus has to be moved or installed from a room to another dedicated one.